What is your teaching philosophy?

Work hard, play hard.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

I'd try to get to know them first and focus on their teaching style. How they learn information is key to beginning the tutoring process in general.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

A student can become an independent learner once they learn how to avoid distractions and focus all their attention on the work they are trying to learn. I'd help them avoid distractions and concentrate on self advancement.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I would slow down the process and let them focus on each step specifically. If they have difficulty, I'd just try teaching it another way. It's all dependent on a student's learning ability and how they process each concept.

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

I used to struggle with reading comprehension as well, so I would use the same tactics that I used when trying to learn. The methods to use are either "practice makes perfect" or slow it down. The most important thing is having interest in what you're reading. If you're interested and hooked, your reading comprehension will become better and more analytical. Once you read things you're interested in, you start to pick up imagery, syntax, vocabulary, and other factors, and you can use that for reading comprehension for school or testing.

What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?

When first working with a student, the most successful strategies are introducing their interests to whatever subject they are learning or trying to learn.

How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?

The only way I find successful is positive reinforcement and potential prizes or breaks for motivation to continue learning the subject.

What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?

I would have the student teach me back as if they were the tutor. By doing this, I would be able to determine if they knew and processed the information step by step.

How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?

By giving them exams, you can actually diminish a student's confidence in a subject. Instead of a test, I'd give them an assessment that isn't formatted like a test. It'd be an interactive lesson, and the more questions they complete and get correct, the more their confidence would increase. However, I would not give them the assessment unless I knew they could handle it.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I evaluate a student's needs through the progress that they've made. By seeing what they struggle with, I'd see what they need to work on.

How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?

I always focus on the student's needs. That's my teaching style. It's very diverse and needs to be directed specifically to each student. If they need interactive learning, I can manage that. If they need more visual learning, I can manage that as well.

What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?

I typically use packets, the student's homework to focus on what they're learning particularly, and some interactive materials for the younger students.